If you’re wondering why companies like Discord, Reddit, and Microsoft have started rolling out age verification processes lately, it’s got to do with the UK’s Online Safety Act.
In Xbox’s case, Microsoft recently announced it is following suit and adding an age verification system for Xbox players in the UK who indicate they are over the age of 18.
‘I’m in South Africa, so that doesn’t affect me,’ you might be thinking. Well, in that announcement, the company also says it expects “to roll out age verification processes to more regions in the future.”
What’s all this age verification, then?
The UK’s Online Safety Act, which was signed into law in 2023, was recently expanded to include “services that allow users to upload or generate their own pornographic content.” Enforcement of the expanded rules began on Friday, 25 July 2025, hence the flurry of age verification announcements.
Microsoft says Xbox’s verification system is still optional, for now. But come “early 2026”, those who haven’t verified their age will have their social functions on Xbox limited to their friends list.
Following that, Microsoft says it will “continue to evaluate how [it] can keep players around the world safe and learn from the UK process.”
“We expect to roll out age verification processes to more regions in the future,” it added. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution to player safety, so these methods may look different across regions and experiences.”
Considering the sudden surge in interest for VPN services in the UK, and the fact that, in some cases, those verification processes can be fooled using Death Stranding 2‘s photo mode, we’d say those processes might need a few enhancements.
